And it hasn't been so far. There were mentions in independent outlets like Democracy Now!, GritTV and the Nation. But in the corporate media, next to nothing-- except for one brief mention on CNN, thanks to Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel:

VANDEN HEUVEL: The progressive caucus, which put out a people's budget which is fair, did not get attention because the media slighted it and marginalized it. That is a mainstream budget.

SPITZER: One second, you'll get your turn.

VANDEN HEUVEL: No, but I do think, when Bernie Sanders and McDermott put forth a Medicare-for-all, that is a majority position.

The single-payer bill and the People's Budget will likely suffer the same media fate--marginalized by the Beltway elites, despite the fact that they represent policies that are broadly popular.

Maybe media would behave differently if someone as serious, wonky and handsome as Paul Ryan was holding the press conference.

But no. The Times story is about the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a 3,000-member organization that is on the far right of the healthcare debate, and is garnering coverage now because they support repeal of the new healthcare law. How far? These excerpts from the Times piece should give you some idea:

Founded in 1943, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons opposed the creation of Medicaid and Medicare. A decade ago, it was among groups that unsuccessfully urged the United States Supreme Court to release post-mortem photographs of a former Clinton administration official, Vincent Foster. In its brief, the group argued that an independent inquiry was necessary to confirm that Mr. Foster, whose death was attributed to suicide, was not murdered.

And:

Its internal periodical has published studies arguing that abortion increases breast cancer risks, a tie rejected by an expert panel of the National Cancer Institute, as well as reports linking child vaccinations to autism, a discredited theory. Another report, "Illegal Aliens and American Medicine," contended that illegal immigrants not only brought disease into this country but benefited if their babies were born with disabilities.

"Anchor babies are valuable," that 2005 report stated, using a negative term for children born in America to illegal immigrants. "A disabled anchor baby is more valuable than a healthy one."

Now perhaps the angle here is that since repeal is in the news, this group deserves coverage. And citing their extremist positions on an array of subjects might be useful for readers who want to know what sorts of folks are backing repeal.

But in the broader debate over healthcare, single-payer advocates like PNHP are largely sidelined. A search of Times coverage in the Nexis news database shows that PNHP usually shows up only in the letters section. A June 11, 2009 article, "Doctors' Group Opposes Public Insurance Plan," focused on opposition to the public option from the likes of the American Medical Association; it included a passing reference to PNHP.

It makes sense for the healthcare debate to include the voices of doctors and other caregivers. But that discussion needs to include those who support single-payer.

Margaret Flowers of Physicians for a National Health Program was interviewed by Frontline--leading one to suspect that the show might include some discussion of truly universal healthcare systems like single-payer (aka Medicare for All).

But the program was a major disappointment. As she wrote (Consortium News, 4/15/10) after it aired, "Curiously, just as it was in the health 'debate,' single-payer, improved Medicare for All, was also excluded from the film."

The strange thing is that Flowers actually appears on the show (albeit briefly), in a scene recounting how single-payer activists disrupted a Senate Finance Committee hearing last May. But the protesters' views are muddled by Frontline.

As the program explained it, insurance industry lobbyists were working to kill the public option from the Senate bill. At this point single-payer activists appear. As Flowers explained:

The producers at Frontline carefully cut single-payer out of the film. When the host, Mr. [Michael] Kirk, interviewed me for "Obama's Deal," we spoke extensively of the single-payer movement and my arrest with other single-payer advocates in the Senate Finance Committee last May. However, our action in Senate Finance was then misidentified as "those on the left" who led a "counterattack" because of "liberal outrage" at being excluded.

The framing of the Frontline segment would lead viewers to believe these activists were public-option proponents, which they are not. Groups like PNHP were critical of the public option--a government-run insurance plan that would be offered to some as an alternative to mandatory private health insurance--arguing that it would leave the insurance industry intact as dominant players in the healthcare business.

After Frontline aired footage of the arrests of single-payer activists, a voice says: "So what Chairman Baucus has decided this option cannot be part of the discussion at a Senate hearing? Now, I think that's wrong. I don't think it's fair." The implication was that "option" here refers to the public option-- since no other option had been mentioned.

That voice was actually MSNBC host Ed Schultz--a supporter of single-payer.  His full quote (5/7/09) would have made that clear:

Now, let me explain single-payer for just a minute.

The money comes from one source, the government. Now, you and I pay taxes, OK. The government pays the bill. It's that simple.

Patients are not caught in the middle between doctors and insurance companies, no game-playing here. There's no middleman. You know? There's no decision-makers between you and your doctor. It's a clean deal.

So what Chairman Baucus has decided, this option cannot be part of the discussion at a Senate hearing? Now, I think that's wrong. I don't think it's fair.

Thus single-payer activists were transformed into advocates for the public option.

This is not the first time that Frontline has decided that a conversation about healthcare reform should exclude single-payer from the discussion. The March 31, 2009 Frontline special Sick Around America avoided discussions of national healthcare plans. This omission led Frontline correspondent T.R. Reid--who had hosted a previous Frontline special  (4/15/08) that examined various public healthcare models-- to withdraw from the project.

PBS ombud Michael Getler agreed with those who thought the show missed a chance to discuss single-payer. It looks like the program has done so again.